In order to
become licensed by the American
Kennel Club to judge German
Wirehaired Pointers in conformation,
an individual must study the breed
to learn its history, purpose and
that combination of characteristics
that make GWPs unique on to
themselves. It’s the responsibility
of each parent club to help provide
opportunities to educate aspiring,
as well as current judges. The
GWPCA has a Judges Education
Coordinator to help organize these
opportunities and a Judges Education
Committee to craft a process to do
so. Judges are obviously an
essential part of the dog fancy and,
before applying for any new breed,
they must spend an extensive amount
of time learning about and observing
the breed in multiple venues. This
is often time consuming and resource
intensive.

The GWPCA JEC tries to respond to
the needs of the judging community
in a positive and responsible way.
How is that done? The most obvious
answer is to provide National Events
to attract large numbers of dogs,
breeders and exhibitors and sponsor
a breed specific workshop to
encourage the learning process. AKC
has very specific guidelines for
judges’ education. A seminar of
approximately 90 minutes is required
covering breed history, form and
function, hallmarks of the breed and
an in-depth interactive conversation
about the standard. There is also
discussion about what constitutes
correct breed type, prioritization
of breed characteristics and how to
approach a dog to complete an
examination. A “hands on” component
is also offered, where a number of
good dogs are available for the
judges to go over, prioritize and
articulate their reasons for placing
them in a particular order. Judges
education at National Events also
gives the judges an opportunity to
talk to breeders, owners and
exhibitors and develop mentoring
relationships. Ringside observation
of the classes is usually provided
by a parent club approved mentor.
There are about a dozen approved
mentors in various parts of the
country. AKC also provides
guidelines for mentors including the
length of time they have been
actively involved in a breed and
specific accomplishments. A mentor
is called on to establish an ongoing
instructive relationship for
learning; a tutor can be a breeder,
judge or handler with in-depth
knowledge to share or discuss on
occasion. Because the GWPCA
continues to hold its field events
in conjunction with the National
Specialty, participants in judges’
education are always encouraged to
take the time to attend the hunt
test or field trial to observe the
dogs doing what they were bred to
do. This helps the judge better
understand how form follows
function.

Besides
workshops at National Events, the
GWPCA JEC is often invited to give
seminars in conjunction with judges
study groups, at shows or on an
independent basis. Members of the
JEC are also “on call” to answer
questions and discuss the breed.
Two recent examples were a scheduled
1 ½ hour telephone conversation to
go over the standard and a request
to meet a judge at a hunt test to
deliberate form and function.

The philosophy
of the GWPCA has always been to keep
the breed as one and not separate
“field and show”. By studying the
history and purpose of our dogs, we
hope judges will understand that the
essence of the breed includes coat,
athleticism, correct proportion and
attitude – a versatile hunting dog
that should be practical and working
efficient. Prioritize by
function…………traits that enable a dog
to do his job are virtues and traits
that impede that job are faults.